The Dawn of Everything
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrowby David Graeber and David Wengrow
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 51 history books
Recommended for reshaping how people view early human societies, using recent anthropology and archaeology. Critics say it cherry-picks evidence and projects modern views onto the past.
Recommended for reshaping how people view early human societies, using recent anthropology and archaeology. Critics say it cherry-picks evidence and projects modern views onto the past.
28 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 82%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Changes views of early humanity
“David Graeber wrote a great book called "Dawn of Everything" that really explains how newer techniques in anthropology have upended what we believe about modern humans.”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “How elites could shape mass preferences as AI reduces persuasion costs” “the aforementioned book was the first I've read in a while that really rewired my personally held mythos”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Civilization Is Not the Default. Violence Is” “Dawn of Everything changed a lot how I viewed early humanity.”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Chimpanzees in Uganda locked in vicious 'civil war', say researchers” Well researched, uses recent evidence
“Incredibly well researched looking at the latest scientific findings from anthropology and archeology.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “A Million Kakapos” “one of the most well researched anthropological and sociological works”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Artemis II crew see first glimpse of far side of Moon” “the part about native American influence on the enlightenment they have a lot of sources for”
Comment from 27 Sep 2026 in “Japan moves to tighten rules for foreigners” Challenges popular ideas about state formation
“does a great job challenging some popular ideas around state formation”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “New US homeownership measure puts people first” “it challenges that frame of reference in a way that is clarifying, in the sense of being a palate cleanser”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “The Absent Silence (2010)” Shows varied past social structures
“talk about the ongoing process of power negotiations between the putative leadership class and the citizenry”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it began” “to understand the kinds of human organizational structures that are possible and have existed in the past”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss (2008)” “very convincingly argued that the idea of modern democracy came from Indian tribes in Northern America”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Green Card Seekers Must Leave U.S. to Apply, Trump Administration Says” - Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “He set out to walk around the world. After 27 years, his quest is nearly over”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Accused of ignoring contrary evidence
“the authors present many things as fact which weren't true or hand wave away or omit contradicting facts/viewpoints”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “New US homeownership measure puts people first” “that's exactly where he gets criticized for ignoring most of the evidence and cherry-picking examples.”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “He set out to walk around the world. After 27 years, his quest is nearly over” Seen as ideologically motivated
“the book has been widely criticized for that assertion, as Graeber is extremely ideologically motivated”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “He set out to walk around the world. After 27 years, his quest is nearly over” “a tremendous amount of projecting a particular modern viewpoint onto the past”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board”
Other history books people recommend
The four most recommended other history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber and David WengrowThis page | 23 | 5 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Cadillac Desertby Marc Reisner | 18 | 0 | 100% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Boxby Marc Levinson | 16 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sapiensby Yuval Noah Harari | 13 | 9 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
| Chip Warby Chris Miller | 13 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
31 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“only the brave Graeber can explain through the medium of book sales”
“More evidence for David Graeber and David Wengrow's reading of the site.”
“the part about native American influence on the enlightenment they have a lot of sources for”
“Incredibly well researched looking at the latest scientific findings from anthropology and archeology.”
“Humans are way more creative at social cohesion when you remove oligarchs and authoritarians.”
“one of the main points they've made so far is that once modern humans became recognizable as such”
“Really fascinating book, basically postulates that humans have always been imaginative social creatures”
“the authors present many things as fact which weren't true or hand wave away or omit contradicting facts/viewpoints”
“does a great job challenging some popular ideas around state formation”
“This is actually a thought-provoking book and a must read.”
“to understand the kinds of human organizational structures that are possible and have existed in the past”
“very convincingly argued that the idea of modern democracy came from Indian tribes in Northern America”
“talk about the ongoing process of power negotiations between the putative leadership class and the citizenry”
“Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow, and Mutual Aid by Kropotkin”
“the aforementioned book was the first I've read in a while that really rewired my personally held mythos”
“one of the most well researched anthropological and sociological works”
“Dawn of Everything changed a lot how I viewed early humanity.”
“Read The Dawn of Everything for the details.”
“You might learn something about those "shitty" versions.”
“The long argument you can find in the book "The Dawn of Everything".”
“a great, more recent alternative with a lot more context around the non-linear trajectory of history”
“See Graber's last book before he died”
“creatively-antagonistic in its weaker evidence parts”
“I think the dawn of everything is a good read”
“that's exactly where he gets criticized for ignoring most of the evidence and cherry-picking examples.”
“the book has been widely criticized for that assertion, as Graeber is extremely ideologically motivated”
“has several examples of tribal fluidity and more freedom of movement than you imply here”
“I suggest reading The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber and David Wengrow.”
“it challenges that frame of reference in a way that is clarifying, in the sense of being a palate cleanser”
“David Graeber wrote a great book called "Dawn of Everything" that really explains how newer techniques in anthropology have upended what we believe about modern humans.”
“a tremendous amount of projecting a particular modern viewpoint onto the past”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.